Rail anchor



Jan. 21, 1930. H. M. GILLESPIE 1,744,306

RAIL ANCHOR Original Filed June 27. 192 8 /LQ I F.-

Patented Jan. 21, 1930 PATENT OFFICE HARVEY MI GILLESPIE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

P & M COMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS RAIL ANCHOR Application filed June 27, 1928, Serial No. 288,661.

My invention relates to rail anchors and has for its ob ect to provide an improved anchor device that will engage the top surfaces of the rail base flanges at opposite sides of the rail and which may be readily and conveniently applied to rail bases of different sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rail anchor of the above character adapted to grip the base portion of a rail with spring pressure, which may be applied to any one rail of a series of different sizes without subjecting the anchor to excessive distortion and which, when in its operative position on the rail, w ll grip with substantially equal tenacity the rails of different sizes.

Another object is to provide in an anchor having the characteristics above noted, bearing surfaces which cooperate with each other to effect a tight gripping action by movement of the anchor transversely of the rail, certain of said surfaces being so disposed with relation to the other as to provide positive locking means to prevent movement of the anchor in a direction to loosen the grip on the rail base.

The invention has for further objects the provision of such other new and improved constructions relating to rail anchors generally and to the specific type of a'nhor herein shown, as will be hereinafter described and claimed, for carrying out the above stated objects and such other incidental objects as Will appear from the detailed description of the invention and as included in the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in one specific embodiment in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

. Fig. 1 is a plan view of a rail base showing my improved anchor applied thereto.

Fig. 2 1s a side View in elevation of the rail anchor shown in Fig. 1 and illustrating by dotted lines the manner in which the anchor can1 be applied to rail bases of difierent sizes, an

Fig. 3 is a view in device. The embodiment of my invention shown in the accompanying drawing is preferably perspective of the anchor tween the vertical edge Renewed December 29, 1928.

made from a single bar of metal, comprising an under rail portion 10 and inwardly projecting hooked downwardly on the inclined upper surfaces of the rail base 13 at opposite sides of the rail. The under rail portion 10 is preferably formed with a bearing 14 which bears upwardly against the bottom surface of the rail base at a point intermediate the jaws 11 and 12 and is so disposed with relation to the under surfaces of said jaws, that the body portion 10 is'flexed downwardly and thejaws are flexed upwardly when the anchor is in its normal applied position. The jaw 12 is made with a somewhat larger hooked portion than jaw 11 so as to provide suflicient clearance be- 15 of the rail base and the root 16 of the bend, to facilitate the application of the anchor to the rail, as will be hereinafter described. The bearing 14 is preferably spaced inwardly with relation to the bearing 17 of the jaw ing surfaces exert a lever grip on the top and bottom surfaces of the rail base when the anchor is forced to its rail gripping position. The long jaw 12 is formed on its under surface with a series of bearing surfaces, preferably notches 18 and 19. The relation of the bearing surfaces 17 18 and 14 is such as to receive a rail base of predetermined size. The vertical dimension A, extending from the bearing 14 to a line passing through the bearing surfaces 17 and 18 may be varied so as to accommodate rail bases of different thicknesses. The notches 18 and 19 are lon itudinally of the jaw 12 that they accommodate the anchor to rail bases of different widths. The position of said notches longitudinally of the jaw 12 so positions them with relation to the bearings 14 and 17 that they are forced into strong spring gripping engagement with the top surface of the rail base to which the are applied when the jaw end 11 of the anchor is forced into gripping engagement with the opposite side of the rail base. Each of the notches 18 and 19 provides a vertical locking shoulder l8 -l9 for engagement with the vertical edge portion of the rail. These shoulders, in addition to providing a positive lock for preventing trans- 11 so that these bearso disposed a longitudinal corner of the rail base.

'end 12 is subjected to a correspondi verse movement of the anchor in a direction to loosen its grip on the rail, permit vertical movement of the under rail portion and the jaw 12 relative to the rail, without danger of transverse displacement of the anchor or injury to the rail, when the anchor is-pressed downwardly against the ballast of the road bed by the Weight of passing traffic.

In applying the device to arail, the large jaw 12 is first hooked over the base flange at one side of the rail with the jaw 11 extendin under the bottom surface of the rail base. he anchor is then moved toward the right of Fig. 2 until the jaw 11 can be raised above the upper edge of the rail base. When in this position the anchor may be driven transversely of the rail toward the left of Fig. 2, until the bearings 17 and I l come into firm gripping engagement with the top and bottom surfaces of the rail base, respectively; -With this engagement the bearing 14 serves as a fulcrum about which the anchor is rocked by further movement of the jaw 11 upon the inclined surface of the rail base. This rocking movement swings the long aw 12 downwardly into spring gripping engagement with the top surface of the rail base. When applied to small rails the notch 18 will snap over the upper longitudinal corner of the rail base when the jaw 11 has been driven into tight gripping engagement with the opposite flange of the rail base. When applied to rail bases of somewhat larger size the notch 19 snaps into engagement with the up lpler downward pressure of the jaw 11 on the top inclined surface of the-rail base, sets up a resilient force transversely of the rail tending to move the shoulders 18-19*, as the case may be, into gripping engagement with the vertical edge portion of the rail base. It will therefore be seen that the anchor, when in its applied position, has both a vertical and transverse spring rip, The downwardly bent portion of the body 10 bears against the cross tie 20.at a substantial distance below the bottom surface of the rail base. It will be noted that when the anchor is applied to the small size rail illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the jaw end 11 en- (giagesthe top and bottom surfaces at a greater istance from the adjacent longitudinal edge of the rail base than when the anchor is applied to a larger rail, for example, as shown in full lines in said figure. jaw end 11 farther upon the inclined surface of the smaller sized rail-base flange, the jaw greater movement about theaxis 14 than when the anchor. is applied to a base flange of larger size. The differential arrangement of the under rail bearing14 relative to the surfaces 17, 18 and 19 is such that the spring gripping engagement is of substantially the same tenacity when the anchor. is applied to By forcing the ngly.

the large or to the small base flange, thereby avoiding excessive flexing of the anchor when it is applied to the large sized base flange. I

While I have illustrated in the application one specific embodiment of the invention in which the inwardly projecting jaws project over and bear against the upper surfaces of the base flanges for a substantial distance from the'longitudinal upper corners of the rail base, it Will be understood that I do not wish to limit myself to the specific embodiment illustrated, but contemplate various forms of devices of this character capable Jf application to rails of different sizes in which the opposite ends of the anchor project over the upper longitudinal corner of the base flange.

I claim:

1. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion formed at opposite ends with inward- '1y projecting jaws for bearing against the upper surfaces of the base flan es at opposite sidesfof the rail, one of sai jaws being formed with a series of bearing surfaces adapted to snap into engagement with the ad acent upper corner of a rail base, when the anchor is forced-to its normally applied position.

2. A rail anchor comprising a single bar of metal formed at opposlte ends with rail base engaging portions adapted tobe flexed into spring gripping engagement with the upper longitudinal corners of rail bases of different sizes.

3. A rail anchor comprising a sprin metal member extending across beneath the rail base in a position to bear against an adjacent cross tie and formed with inwardly projecting hooked ends which project over the upper longitudinal corners of a rail base and bear with vertical pressure against the inclined surfaces thereof, one of said rail-engaging jaws being formed with a series of notches to accommodate the anchor to base flanges of different sizes. 4. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion for bearing against the bottom surface of the rail base and provided with inwardly projecting jaws at opposite ends of the under rail portion adapted to be forced into gripping engagement with the top faces of the flanges at opposite sides of the rail by movement of the anchor transversely of the rail; one of said jaws being provided with a series of bearing surfaces disposed longitudinally of the jaw to accommodate the anchor to base flanges of different sizes.

5. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion for bearing a ainst the bottom surface of the rail base an provided with inwardly projecting jaws at the opposite ends of the I spring under rail/ portion adapted to be forced into gripping engagement with the top faces of the flanges at opposite sides of the rail by movement of the anchor transversely of the rail; one of said jaws being provided With a series of bearing surfaces disposed longitudinally of the jaw to'accommodate the anchor to base flanges of different sizes.

6. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion having a bearlng against the bottom of the rail base and formed with inwardly projecting jaws extending over the top faces of the base flanges at opposite sides of the rail and so disposed with relation to the bottom bearing that movement of the anchor transversely o f the rail forces the said jaws into gripping engagementvwith said top faces of the flanges; one of said jaws being formed With a series of bearing surfaces so arranged relative to the under rail bearing as to accommodate the anchor to base flanges of different sizes. 7

' 7. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion having a bearing against the bottom of the rail base and formed with inwardly projecting jaws extending over the top faces of the base flanges at opposite sides of the rail and .so disposed with relation to the bottom bearing that movement of the anchor transversely of the rail rocks the anchor about the bottom bearing as a fulcrum and forces the said jaws into gripping engagement w1th said top faces of the flanges; one of said jaws being formed with a series of bearing surfaces so arranged relative to the under ra l bearing as to accommodate the anchor to base flangesof different sizes.

8. A rail anchor for application to rails of difierent sizes comprising an under rail portion having a bearing against the bottom of j the rail base and formed with inwardly projecting jaws extending over the top faces of the base flanges at opposite sides of the rail and disposedat different distances from the bottom bearing surface whereby movement of the anchor transversely of the rail rocks the anchor, by reason of a differential leverage of the jaws on the bottom hearing as a fulcrum, and forces the said jaws into gripping engagement with said top faces of the flanges; one of said aw's being formed with a series of bearing surfaces so arranged relative to the under r'ail bearing as to accommodate the anchor to baseflanges of diflerent slzes. 1

9. A one-piece rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising a resilient member formed at opposite. ends with inwardlyprojecting jaws which hook over the upper edges of the base flanges at opposite sides of the rail and exert a spring grip on the rail; one of said jaws being formed with a ofbearing surfaces adapted to be sprung into gripping engagement with the top portion of the base flange at the opposite side of the rail.

11. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising a resilient bar extending across beneath the base of a rail and formed at one end with a hooked portion providing a jaw for engaging the top surface of the rail base flange at one side of the rail, formed at the other end with means having a series of shoulders, each adapted to be moved into spring gripping engagement with the upper corner portion of a base flange of predetermined size and means providing a fulcrum bearing against the bottom face of the rail base and so disposed relative to the ends of the anchor that movement of the anchor transversely of the rail rocks the rail grip ping jaws into gripping engagement with the rail base.

12. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising a resilient bar extending across beneath the base of the rail and formed at one end with a hooked portion providing a jaw for engaging the top surface of the rail base flange at one side of the rail, formed at the other end with means having a series of shoulders each adapted to be moved into spring gripping engagement with the upper corner portion of a base flange of predetermined size by movement of the anchor transversely of the rail, and means providing a fulcrum bearing against the bottom face of the rail base and so disposed relativeto the ends of the anchorthat said transverse movement rocks the anchor about the bottom bearing surface of a fulcrum.

13. A rail anchor for application to rails of difierent sizes comprising a resilient bar extending across beneath the rail base of a rail and formed at one end with a hooked portion providing a jaw for engaging the top surface of the rail base at one side of the rail, formed at the other end with means having a series of shoulders, each adapted to be moved into spring gripping engagement with the upper corner of a rail base of predetermined size by movement of the anchor transversely of the rail; the said transverse movement of the anchor imparting a rocking movement different sizes comprising a bar having an under rail portion formed intermediate its ends with a point for bearing against the bottransverse movement of the tom of the rail baseand provided at opposite ends with means for bearing against the top portion of the rail base; one end being provided with a series of shoulders .to accommodate the anchor to different sized rails; the said end portions being so arran ed and proportioned relative to the bottom earing that the anchor exerts a vertical and transverse grip on the rail when in its applied position.

15.-A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising a bar having an under rail portion formed intermediate its ends with a point of bearing against the bottom of the rail base and'provided at opposite ends with means'for bearing against the topportion of the rail base; one end being provided with a series of shoulders to accommodate the anchor to different sized rails the said end portions being so arranged and proportioned relative to each other and to the said bottom bearing that the anchor is flexed by movement of the device to its normal gripping position, whereby the reflex action of the anchor exerts vertical pressure on the rail at opposite sides thereof.

16. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising a bar having an under-rail portion formed intermediate its ends with a point of bearing against the bottom of the rail base and provided at opposite ends with means for bearing against the top portion of the rail base; one end being provided with a series of shoulders to accommodate the anchors to different sized rails, the said end ortions being so arranged and proportione relative to each other and to the said bottom bearing that the anchor is flexed by movement of the device to its normal gripping position, whereby the reflex action of the anchor exerts both vertical and transverse pressures on the said rail base.

17 A rail anchor comprising a spring metal member extending across beneath the rail base in a position to bear against an adjacent cross tie and formed with inwardly projecting hooked ends which project over the upper longitudinal corners of a rail base and bear with inclined surfaces thereof, one of said rail engaging jaws being formed with a series of notches to accommodate the anchor to base flanges of diflerent sizes; the said notches providing bearing surfaces for preventing anchor, but permitting upward movement of the anchor relative to the rail.

18. A rail anchor comprising a resilient member formed intermediate its ends with a portion for bearing against the bottom surface of the rail, provided at one end with a jaw for engagement with 'one flange of a rail base and formed at the other endwith a series of bearing surfacesadapted to be sprung vertical pressure against the into gripping engagement with the top and I vertical edge portions of the base flange at the opposite side of the rail, and having capacity for vertical movement relative to said rail when in normal applied position.

19. A rail anchor comprising a resilient .member formed with a portion for bearing against the bottom surface of the rail and provided at one end with a jaw for engagement with one flange of the rail base and formed at the other end with a series of notches adapted to be moved into successive engagement .with the upper portion of the base of a rail, the said last mentioned bearing surfaces being formed to normally stand clear of the bottom surface of the rail base,

whereby the under rail portion and said bearing surfaces have capacity for upward movement relative to the rail when the anchor is in its normally applied position.

20. A rail anchor for application to rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion provided at one end with means for engaging one flange of a rail base and provided at the other end with a jaw portion formed with a plurality of shoulders for engagement with the upper corner portion of the base flange at the other side of the rail.

21. A rail anchor adapted to be flexed into spring gripping engagement with rails of different sizes comprising an under rail portion formed at oneend with means for engagment with the rail at one side thereof and provided at the other end with a jaw portion formed with a plurality of shoulders for engagement with the-upper corner portion of the base formed with a series of bearing surfaces, each of which is adapted to provide a gripping contact for a certain sized rail of a series of varying sizes.

23. A rail anchor adapted to be moved transversely of the rail to its applied position and comprising a spring metal bar formed at one end with means for gripping one base flange of the rail and provided at the other end with a bend providing a,jaw which extends over and bears against the upper surface of the base flange at the other side of the rail and provided with a series of bearing surfaces, each of which provides a locking shoulder for maintaining the anchor in its which bears against the upper surface of the rail base but remains out of engagement wit-h the marginal lower surface of said base and provided at the other end with means for engaging the other base flange of the rail, said jaw being provided with a series of shoulders to accommodate the anchor to rail bases of diflerent sizes.

25. A rail anchor comprising a resilient bar formed with atportion for engaging with one rail base flange of the rail and formed at the other endwith a hook shaped bend providing a jaw which projects over the upper surface of the other base flange, said jaw being formed with a series of notches adapted to bemoved into successive engagement with the last mentioned base flange of the rail during the movement of the anchor device to its applied position.

26. A one-piece rail anchor comprising a resilient member formed at opposite ends with means for gripping the opposite sides of a rail with spring pressure, one of said 'means comprising an inwardly bent hook portion for embracing one base flange of the rail and provided with a series of bearing surfaces for accommodating the anchor to rails of different sizes.

27 A rail anchor comprising a body mem ber provided at opposite ends with inturned jaws adapted to be flexed into'spring gripping engagement with the base portion of a rail at opposite sides of the rail, one of said inturned jaws being provided with a series of notches adapted for successive engagement with a corner portion of one of the base.

flanges of said rail base.

28. A rail anchor comprlsing an under rail portion formed at one end with'means for gripping the top and bottom sufaces of-one flange of a rail base and formed at the other end with an inturned jaw movable transversely of the rail into gripping engagement with a corner portion of the other base flange and provided with a series of notches adapted. to successively engage over said corner portion of the rail base flange to lock the first mentioned gripping means in its applied position, the said gripping meansand said inturned jaw beingso disposed with relation t gripping the top and bottom surfaces of one and an adjacent portion of the anchor during movementupwardly of the notched end when in its normally-applied position.

- HARVEY M. GILLESPIE.

each other that the gripping pressure of one influences the gripping action ofthe other. 7

,- 29-. A rail anchor comprising an under rail portion formed-at one end with means for gripping the ,top andbottom surfaces of one flange of a rail base and formed at the other end with a series of notches, one of which provides a shoulder for engaging over the upper corner of the other'base flange and provides also a vertical bearing surface for bearing against the vertical edge of the last mentioned flange, another of said notches being formed at the lower end of said vertical bearing surface whereby clearance is provided between the said vertical surface of the rail base and an adjacent portion of the anchor.

. 30. A rail anchor comprising an under 

